Huckabee arrives in Israel to represent Trump’s views – not his
Mike Huckabee - America’s first-ever evangelical Christian Ambassador to Israel – has - on his first day in office - visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem - the most sacred place in Judaism - a remnant of the Second Temple - destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Huckabee carried with him a note – a prayer handwritten by President Trump - to place in one of the thousands of crevices that dot the 488 metres length of the Wall projecting majestically to an exposed height of 62 metres – comprising 45 sandstone courses - 28 of them above ground and 17 underground.
Reading: "For peace in Israel" - it was signed with the initials D. T. which Huckabee said stood for Donald Trump.
"What an honor it is for me to come on behalf of the president of the United States, President Donald Trump, and to present a prayer that he handwrote, gave to me last Thursday at the White House, with the instruction that my first act as ambassador would be to take his prayer — praying for the peace of Jerusalem — and to bring it to the wall, and to pray that there would in fact be, peace in the land,"
Huckabee was humbly acknowledging his remarks to the Senate Committee hearing affirming his appointment as Ambassador:
“I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies, but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the President whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honor of serving as ambassador to the State of Israel... It's certainly a complicated part of the world, and the tiny sliver of real estate carved out of the British Mandate from the Ottoman Empire in 1917 to again be “a national home for the Jewish people” remains the most contested bit of land on the planet.”
Trump’s views for resolving sovereignty in just a miniscule area of Huckabee’s “tiny sliver of real estate” are yet to be revealed. 5% of Palestine - about 5% of the size of New Jersey - comprising the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) still remains unallocated between Jews and Arabs more than 100 years after the League of Nations had designated these areas for reconstitution of the Jewish National Home in 1922.
Trump’s 2020 “Deal of the Century” proposed the division of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip between Israel and a demilitarized Palestinian State to be created and governed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Trump’s solution was rejected by the PLO before the terms of Trump’s deal were published and vigorously rejected thereafter.
Gaza’s invasion of Israel on 7 October 2023 - and the war that has raged unresolved ever since - had already ensured Trump would not be offering his 2020 deal in 2025 – after Trump announced on 6 February:
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region,"
Trump views on dealing with Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are unknown – but appear limited to proposing the allocation of sovereignty:
· To Israel: In its entirety
· To Israel and Jordan - the two successor States to the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine: In such shares as they shall determine in direct negotiations.
Gaza’s sovereignty could be resolved in negotiations between Egypt and Israel – if Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza becomes unrealisable.
Trump’s choice of Huckabee to drive President Trump’s proposals could prove to be inspirational.
David Singer is an Australian lawyer and political analyst.
